Highly competitive fungi manipulate bacterial communities in decomposing beech wood (Fagus sylvatica).

ABSTRACT: The bacterial communities in decomposing wood are receiving increased attention, but their interactions with wood-decay fungi are poorly understood. This is the first field study to test the hypothesis that fungi are responsible for driving bacterial communities in beech wood (Fagus sylvatica). A meta-genetic approach was used to characterise bacterial and fungal communities in wood that had been laboratory-colonised with known wood-decay fungi, and left for a year at six woodland sites. Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the proportionally dominant bacterial taxa, as in previous studies. Pre-colonising wood with decay fungi had a clear effect on the bacterial community, apparently via direct fungal influence; the bacterial and fungal communities present at the ti

SUBMITTER: Johnston SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6301287 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature